1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of contacting a contact tongue disposed on a base plate and protruding from it with a flexible flat cable, wherein a counterpart contact body formed with a slot space for receiving the contact tongue is slipped onto the contact tongue. The invention also pertains to a corresponding device.
As motor vehicles are increasingly equipped with electrical and electronic controls, plug-type connections are increasingly gaining in significance. The most various demands are made of these plug connections in terms of current carrying capacity, contact resistance, mechanical and thermal load-bearing capacity, and so forth.
The problem frequently arises of how to electrically contact a contact tongue or contact lug which protrudes from a component unit, such as a control unit, an electrically controlled transmission, and so forth. It is typical for a slotted counterpart contact, for instance comprising a copper alloy, to be slipped or mounted onto the contact tongue. The counterpart contact itself provides the electrical contacting and either is a component of a plug with a plurality of counterpart contacts or it is a single counterpart contact. The counterpart contact is connected to an electrical cable conductor by soldering, crimping or the like. Producing such mechanical counterpart contacts and connecting them to connection lines is relatively complicated, and thus expensive. Moreover, there are contact resistors between the counterpart contacts and the connection lines, which demands careful quality-assurance provisions so as not to impair the reliability of operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,752 to Rich defines the generic flat cable connection system. There, a contact tongue with which a flat cable is connected has a plurality of contact tongues, which are disposed on a base plate and protrude from it. Each contact tongue has a receiving slot with contact regions that face one another. A flat cable is fixed in a counterpart contact body of plastic and when the counterpart contact body is mounted on the contact tongues, the cable is introduced into the receiving slot in such a way that a disconnectible electrical contact is brought about via the contact regions between the contact tongues and the conductors of the flat cable.
A device for contacting a flexible flat cable with a connector has also become known from European patent disclosure EP 0 759 650 A2. There, the flat cable is deformed by the slipping on of a fastening body and is pressed against the side walls of the connector in such a way as to produce contacting.
Devices for connecting a flexible flat cable to the contact tongues of a connector are further described in German published, examined patent application DE-AS 16 65 171 and German Utility Model DE 91 02 716 U1. There, the flat cable is pressed by a counterpart contact into the slot space of the connector in such a way that an electrical contact is formed.
2. Summary of the Invention
The disadvantages of the prior art devices can advantageously be avoided by contacting the contact tongues with a special type of flat cables, known as flexible conductor films or foils.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method and a device for contacting, with a flat cable, a contact tongue projecting from a flat base plate, which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices and methods of this general type and which provides for a reliable contact with the contact tongue.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method of connecting a flexible flat cable with a contact tongue disposed on and protruding from a base plate, which comprises:
providing a flexible conductor foil having at least one conductor track and placing the conductor foil between a contact tongue and a counterpart contact body, the counterpart contact body being formed with a slot space defining an inner wall; PA1 slipping the counterpart contact body onto the contact tongue and deforming the flexible conductor foil by pressing the flexible conductor foil against the inner wall of the slot space and forming an electrical contact between the at least one conductor track of the flexible conductor foil and the contact tongue. PA1 a contact tongue disposed on and protruding from a base plate; PA1 a counterpart contact body comprising plastic material and having a slot space with an inner wall formed therein for receiving the contact tongue; PA1 a flexible conductor foil disposed between the contact body and the contact tongue, the contact tongue, upon insertion into the slot space of the contact body, forcing the flexible conductor foil against the inner wall of the slot space and effecting an electrical contact between the flexible conductor foil and the contact tongue.
With the above objects in view there is also provided a flat cable connector, comprising:
It is an essential feature of the invention that the counterpart contact body is optimally adapted to suit the purpose--the body may be a simple injection-molded plastic part--and, when the counterpart contact body is slipped onto the contact tongue to be contacted, a flexible conductor foil is pressed by the contact tongue so that it rests against the inner wall of the slot. This closes the electrical connection between the contact tongue and the flexible conductor foil. No metal counterpart contact whatever is necessary. By means of the flexible conductor foil, the contact tongue is securely contacted, and the plastic contact body provides the retention of the flexible conductor foil on the contact tongue. With the flexible conductor foil, the contact tongue is connected directly to a vehicle electric system, for instance, if the contact tongue is used to supply current to a consumer, such as a transmission actuator, or if it is a component of an electronic control unit, so that the necessary control signal is carried via the contact tongue.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the inner wall of the slot space has two mutually parallel wall surfaces each formed with a protruding edge extending along a slip-on direction along which the contact body is slipped onto the contact tongue and facing towards one another, the protruding edges receiving the contact tongue therebetween.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the slot space has a beveled mouth opening widening towards the contact tongue.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the contact tongue is one of a plurality of mutually adjacent contact tongues, and wherein the flexible conductor foil is formed with a plurality of conductor tracks assigned to respective the contact tongues, the slot space being adapted to receive the plurality of contact tongues with an intermediary of the conductor tracks of the conductor foil.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the two mutually opposite inner walls receiving the contact tongue therebetween and the flexible conductor foil are elastically resilient.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method and device for contacting a contact tongue, disposed on a base plate and protruding from it, with a flexible flat cable, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.